Scouting’s National Honor Society, the Order of the Arrow (OA) will celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2015 with a major celebration being held at the National Order of the Arrow Conference at Michigan State University, Aug. 3–8, 2015 in East Lansing, Mich.
      More than 10,000 Arrowmen (youth, men and women members and staff) will attend the historic conference with 71 members coming from our local area. As part of this celebration, the National OA office has instructed all lodges to gather their local history, create a Lodge History Book and submit it for the celebration.
      The Greater Western Reserve Boy Scout Council lodge is known as Wapashuwi Lodge 56 which was formed on July 1, 1995 from the merger of three former lodges, Stigwandish Lodge 114, Tapawingo Lodge 368 and Neatoka Lodge 396.
      The Wapashuwi Lodge has been working on gathering not only their history from 1995 to date, but also the history of the three former lodges that existed in the area now served by the Greater Western Reserve Council.
      Stigwandish Lodge 114 began in 1938 of the Northeast Ohio Council serving the counties of Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula. Tapawingo Lodge 368 was formed in 1947 of the Western Reserve Council and served Trumbull County. Neatoka Lodge 396 served the Mahoning Valley Council in Mahoning County was first called Mahoning Lodge 396 and began in 1948. By 1955 the lodge had lost their charter. In 1957, they were re-charted as Mahoning Lodge 396 and by the fall of 1957, changed their name to Neatoka Lodge 396.
      According to Mike Kupec, adviser to the Lodge History Project “Mahoning Lodge 396 from 1948 to 1955 is a complete mystery. We have no information on their members, activities, events nor any photos, paperwork or anything.” said Kupec. “The only piece of information that we have from our national office is that there was 95 members by 1955.
      We need the help of the local community whose father or grandfather may have been in the OA during those years in Mahoning County and perhaps has a membership card, photo or any paperwork for Mahoning Lodge 396”, he said.
      They are also looking for the same kind of materials and memorabilia for Neatoka, Stigwandish, Tapawingo, and Wapashuwi Lodges. They have also been contacting past Lodge Chiefs and Lodge advisers and doing video interviews of their experience in the OA to also add to their history book for submission to the National OA.
      In 1915, Camp Director E. Urner Goodman and Assistant Camp Director Carroll A. Edson searched for a way to recognize select campers for their cheerful sprits of service at Treasure Island Scout Camp in the Delaware River. Goodman and Edson founded the Order of the Arrow when they held the first Ordeal Ceremony on July 16 of that year. By 1921, as the popularity of the organization spread to other camps, local lodges attended the first national gathering called a Grand Lodge Meeting.
      The Order of the Arrow was one of many camp honor societies that existed at local Scout camps across the country. Through the years as more camps adopted the Order of the Arrow’s program, it gained prominence and became part of the national Boy Scout program in 1934. By 1948, the OA, recognized as the BSA’s national brotherhood of honor campers, became an official part of the Boy Scouts of America. Toward the end of the twentieth century, the OA expanded its focus to include conservation, high adventure, and servant-leadership.
      Throughout the years, the Order of the Arrow has played an integral role in the program of the Boy Scouts and in the community service its members contribute to their communities. To date, more than one million people have been members of the Order of the Arrow.
      Presently, the Order of the Arrow consists of nearly 300 lodges. Leadership positions and voting rights are restricted to members under the age of 21. Through the program, members live up to the ideals of brotherhood, cheerfulness, and service set forth by E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson.
      There is a collection of OA material currently on display at the Greater Western Reserve Council Boy Scout Museum at Camp Stambaugh on Leffingwell Rd. in Canfield which is open upon request. Anyone having any material to loan for scanning or to donate can contact Kupec at 330-799-1475 or at mike.kupec@gmail.com.
      Information on Wapashuwi Lodge can be found at wapashuwi.org, the National Order of the Arrow at oa-bsa.org and the Greater Western Reserve Council at bsa-gwrc.org or call 330-898-8474.